FISA Action: Calls And FAXes Needed

Quick reminder to everyone: keep those calls and FAXes coming to your Senators. Tell them to stand up for the rule of law and for the balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch — and to vote NO on Sen. McConnell’s cloture motion today.

Glenn has background on why this is important — and the games the Bush Administration is playing (and on how gullible Mike Allen is with an utter failure to fact check):

…The administration explicitly admits that the President won’t allow an extension because he wants to repeat the success of last August — when Congressional Democrats capitulated to every Bush demand because they were told they had to act within a matter of days, i.e., before their recess, lest they cause us all to be killed by The Terrorists. "They need the heat of the current law lapsing to get this done," said a senior administration official, courteously granted anonymity by The Politico’s Allen to issue these threats.

This veto threat is one of the President’s most brazen acts ever, so nakedly exposing the fun and games he routinely plays with National Security Threats. After sending Mike McConnell out last August to warn that we will all die without the PAA, Bush now says that he would rather let it expire than give Congress another 30 days. He just comes right out and announces, then, that he will leave us all vulnerable to a Terrorist Attack unless he not only gets everything he wants from Congress — all his new warrantless eavesdropping powers made permanent plus full immunity for his lawbreaking telecom partners — but also gets it exactly when he wants it (i.e., now — not 30 days from now)….

We have a President, not a king — and in this nation, the rule of law is sovereign, not a petulant little man and his behind-the-scenes manipulative number 2, bent on creating a unilateral executive empire borne of a grudge nursed since the Nixon Administration. Just say no.

True leaders understand the need to balance civil liberties concerns with national security needs. They are not, nor should they be, mutually exclusive. Let’s get to work!

You can send FAXes for free through a number of internet spots, including FreeFax, eFAX, faxzero, and any number of other places if you don’t have a FAX of your own. (Do read the fine print on all of these before using them.)

Every Senator needs a call, so please take the time to call or FAX yours today. Several Senators could use extra contact on this — uncommitted Democrats, members of the Gang of 14, and a number of wavering Republicans. Tell them to vote "no" on cloture. It is well past time that respect for the rule of law and the role of Congress in the balance of powers was restored:

Name

Phone

FAX

Bayh

(202) 224-5623

(202) 228-1377

Carper

(202) 224-2441

(202) 228-2190

Obama

(202) 224-2854

(202) 228-4260

Inouye

(202) 224-3934

(202) 224-6747

Johnson

(202) 224-5842

(202) 228 5765

Landrieu

(202)224-5824

(202) 224-9735

McCaskill

(202) 224-6154

(202) 228-6326

Mikulski

(202) 224-4654

(202) 224-8858

Nelson (FL)

(202) 224-5274

(202) 228-2183

Clinton

(202) 224-4451

(202) 228-0282

Nelson (NE)

(202) 224-6551

(202) 228-0012

Pryor

(202) 224-2353

(202) 228-0908

Salazar

(202) 224-5852

(202) 228-5036

Specter

(202) 224-4254

(202) 228-1229

McCain

(202) 224-2235

(202) 228-2862

Graham

(202) 224-5972

(202) 224-3808

Warner

(202) 224-2023

(202) 224-6295

Snowe

(202) 224-5344

(202) 224-1946

Collins

(202) 224-2523

(202) 224-2693

Sununu

(202) 224-2841

(202) 228-4131

Lieberman

(202) 224-4041

(202) 224-9750

Byrd

(202) 224-3954

(202) 228-0002

Lincoln

(202)224-4843

(202)228-1371

Chambliss

(202) 224-3521

(202) 224-0103

Coleman

(202) 224-5641

(202) 224-1152

Dole

(202) 224-6342

(202) 224-1100

Smith

(202) 224-3753

(202) 228-3997

Stabenow

(202) 224-4822

(202) 228-0325

Kohl

(202) 224-5653

(202) 224-9787

UPDATE: California readers will no doubt be unsurprised by this — but Sen. Feinstein continues to dither about her vote. Please give her a call/FAX and tell her to vote "NO" on cloture. She’s a Democrat, and it sure would be nice if she acted like it.

Christy Hardin Smith

Christy is a "recovering" attorney, who earned her undergraduate degree at Smith College, in American Studies and Government, concentrating in American Foreign Policy. She then went on to graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the field of political science and international relations/security studies, before attending law school at the College of Law at West Virginia University, where she was Associate Editor of the Law Review. Christy was a partner in her own firm for several years, where she practiced in a number of areas including criminal defense, child abuse and neglect representation, domestic law, civil litigation, and she was an attorney for a small municipality, before switching hats to become a state prosecutor. Christy has extensive trial experience, and has worked for years both in and out of the court system to improve the lives of at risk children.